Gonadal damage in Hodgkin's disease from cancer chemotherapeutic regimens

The paper re-emphasizes that intensive prolonged anticancer chemotherapy containing alkylating agents or procarbazine or both produces a high-incidence of gonadal failure, particularly in males. This evidence has been documented mostly in patients with Hodgkin's disease. On the contrary, effective combination regimens, such as ABVD, not including the above mentioned drugs induce a comparatively less and transient germ cell toxicity. In devising chemotherapy for potentially curable neoplastic diseases in young patients efforts should be made to avoid or minimize the potential risk of drug-induced gonadal failure.